Show Me Your Wings
by Vintage Red Car
Summary: "I wouldn't care if you were the queen or the lowliest chambermaid. A fairy, or a human, or even half a horse. None of that matters. As long as you're you, you're all I could ever want."/ In which Austin is the lord's son. and Ally is his fairy princess. AU.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally.**

 **This story happens in the Elizabethan era in Britain, by the way. And Ally's not really a fairy princess, so sorry if you were expecting a fantasy story. Sorry in advance for the chauvinist comments in here. I tried to get into the mindset of the era, and women were considered inferior to men then.**

* * *

Show Me Your Wings

Seven year old Austin Moon brushed his blond hair out of his brown eyes and looked around before cautiously stepping into the small gap clearing. He had managed to sneak out of his father, Lord Moon's manor, and was pretty sure that while his nanny, Miss Suzy, would give him grief for leaving, she would hide his disappearance from his parents' notice, if only to escape their wrath.

Austin heard running water and followed the sound. He'd been walking for what felt like hours and the day was hot, as typical for a summer day in the area. Getting closer to the source, he found a small trickle of water coming from outside of the clearing and deeper into the woods. The trickle steadily became a small river, and eventually a pond, which was in a bigger clearing than the one he had just left, from which it originated.

Dropping to his knees, he cupped his hands and filled them with water. Just as he was about to take a sip, a voice rang out. "I wouldn't, if I were you."

Austin spun around, his hand flying to pull out the small hunting knife he had gotten for his birthday, which was strapped to his belt. Before him stood a girl about his age with wavy brown hair and big brown eyes that widened when she saw the knife. She raised her hands to show she was weaponless and gave him a friendly smile. "I drank a lot of that water once, and a day later I couldn't stop vomiting. The pond's okay to swim in though. The water's deep enough and if you swallow only a little bit, nothing will happen.

"I'm Ally, by the way. What's your name?" she added the last two sentences as an afterthought.

"Au-Austin," he answered, stuttering slightly. The girl, Ally, seemed somewhat strange to him. She talked as if they were lifelong friends rather than two people who had met only moments ago. She also talked way too much. Women were to be seen, not heard, father always said.

"Where do you live? I've never seen you around the village before," she prompted him gently, talking in a voice that one would typically use while dealing with a scared animal.

Returning his knife to his belt –he had decided that she would most likely not kill him, and even if she tried, there was no way a _girl_ could overpower him– Austin pointed at his father's manor, which was just visible over the treetops from where it sat atop the hill. "That's my father's house."

Ally let out what his mother would consider a very unladylike snort. "Yeah, right, and I'm a fairy princess."

That would explain her queerness. Everyone knew that the fey did not know human customs and mannerisms.

"Could you show me your wings then?" he asked, curious. He'd never met one of the fair folk before, let alone seen their wings. He had only heard about them in the stories Miss Suzy told him before he went to sleep.

"The day you show me inside your house is the day I'll show you my wings," she told him, her tone undecipherable.

"Deal," he answered. Miss Suzy had told him of terrible things that had happened to men who had stroke a deal with the fey, but surely a sweet girl like her, one that had saved him from drinking water that would have made him ill, wouldn't harm him.

"Oh!" Ally cried abruptly. "You were thirsty, weren't you?"

At Austin's nod, she gave him a small water pouch that was tied to her belt. "Here you go. And if you're hungry, there's an apple tree here. If you can climb you can climb, you can pick some. Or we can try to shake the branches and hope a few apples fall. That's what I usually do."

"You can't climb a tree?" Austin found this quite odd. He had always assumed fairies lived in trees.

"Oh, and you can?" Ally raised an eyebrow at him.

Austin nodded, though he didn't have much experience in the area himself. In fact, the last time he had tried to climb to climb a tree he fell down and bruised his back, but Ally didn't need to know that.

"Fine. You'll climb the tree and I'll stand under it, and you can throw me apples." she led him to the apple tree and looked at him expectantly.

 _Here goes nothing_ , he thought to himself as he began his climb. He went to a relatively low branch with a few apples hanging on it and began to pick them and toss them down to Ally. After he threw down four apples she called up, "I think four will be enough, you can come down now."

Doing as he was told, and almost slipping once or twice, Austin found himself on stable ground. Only his pride stopped him from kissing it.

Austin took out his hunting knife and sliced the apples into slices.

After he and Ally finished eating the apples he asked her, "you said the water was okay to swim in, right?"

Ally nodded.

"Then the last one in the pond is a rotten egg," he yelled and ran to the water as fast as he could, Ally laughing and racing after him.

* * *

"I met a fairy today," he told Miss Suzy that night while she was sitting next to his bed, mending the shirt he had accidentally torn on his way back home today.

The needle froze and Miss Suzy paled.

"It was okay, though. She was really nice," he hurried to calm her. "But… I promised I would go meet her often. Tomorrow, even."

"Foolish boy," Miss Suzy tutted. "Well, if you promised, you promised. You'll have to go. I don't fancy facing the wrath of the fey, and terrible things have happened to those whom had broken their promise to a fairy, no matter how _nice_ she is."

Austin smiled, feeling victorious. He could meet his new friend again.

* * *

They agreed to meet once a week, on Sunday during the afternoon, because that was the day neither of them had lessons. Moreover, Austin knew that during that time his parents were usually busy entertaining guests or listening to complaints from the villagers, so they were less likely to notice his absence, and Ally said that she didn't have to help her parents around the house on Sundays.

Those Sunday afternoons quickly became the highlight of his week, and Austin spent all of his free time fantasizing about what he and Ally would do the next time they'll meet. In the summer they would play hide-and-seek and fool around in the pond, and during the winter they would build snowmen and have snowball fights, and a few times, when they were sure the pond was frozen solid, they even ice-skated.

As the years passed, Austin realized a few important things. The first realization, which came just before his tenth birthday, was that Ally wasn't really a fairy princess. Unlike any of the fey described in the stories, her skin wasn't really tinted green or blue, she didn't have weeds for hair or branches for fingers, and, as far as he knew anyways, she didn't curdle milk or steal human babies from their cradles and replace them with fairies. He couldn't fathom _why_ Ally would tell him she was one, unless perhaps she thought he was lying about being the Lord's son. He never brought that up, though. It was fun to pretend he had befriended a magical creature. He also didn't mention this fact to Miss Suzy. He thought that she wouldn't be so keen to let him disappear for several hours every week if she knew he was going to meet a regular girl rather than a mystical creature whose wrath terrified her.

The second thing he realized, about a year and a half later, was that Ally wasn't like his other friends. When he thought of her, he didn't feel the same way he felt when he thought of Dez, his tutor's son, or Edward, his father's head of the guard's nephew, who came to visit for a few months each year. He remembered when Ally had once come with a flower in her hair and a ridiculous smile on her face. She ecstatically told him that the flower came from a boy who lived on a farm close to her house, and that he said she was pretty, and Austin accidentally pulverized the apple he was slicing for them. He didn't think he would be mad if someone gave Dez a flower.

The third realization occurred around the same time as the second one had, and Austin had a feeling they were somehow related to each other. Ally was a girl. It's not that beforehand he thought she was a boy; it was just that he began to notice certain things about her. At age eleven she lost the last bits of baby fat from her face, making her cheekbones seem more defined, and slight curves began to appear on her body. He also noticed how her hair, which was slightly unruly when they'd first met, was now easily tamed and surrounded her face nicely, and how her eyes were large and framed by thick lashes. It struck him that the stupid farm boy (perhaps he was smart, but Austin preferred to think of him as a drooling idiot for some reason) was right. Ally _was_ pretty.

* * *

One day when Austin returned home, he found his parents waiting for him.

"Where have you been?" his mother asked sharply.

"Outside," was his vague answer.

His mother opened her mouth to inquire further, but his father concluded the matter with a wave of his hand to show that he had more important things to do than discuss his son's afternoon deeds. "We have decided to send you to live with your mother's brother." his father was never one for subtlety.

"What? Uncle Henry? Why? Don't you want me here?" he asked, distraught.

His mother, seeing his distress, got down on her knees before him and spoke softly. "Sweetie, of course we want you here with us, but you're twelve, and we rarely see you around kids your age. Your uncle Henry has three children about as old as you."

"I play with Dez and with Edward when he comes to visit." _and Ally_ , he mentally added.

"You only see Edward for a few months each year, and Dez… isn't exactly the perfect example for how a future Lord should act. Your uncle and cousins on the other hand, can teach you everything you need to know about being the next sovereign of this area. Dez's father will accompany you to complete your studies, and if Dez wishes he can come along as well. Miss Suzy will also go with you to take care of you," his father told him, and Austin could see that his mind was made up, and there was no swaying him.

"Fine," he sighed, "when do I leave?"

"Monday, next week."

* * *

The day before he left, Austin savored every moment he had with Ally.

He listened to her talk about anything and everything, and barely said a word himself, trying to commit her voice, the way her eyes shone when she was excited and the way her nose crinkled when she laughed to memory. She was one of his closest friends, and the thought of not seeing her every week for god knows how long made his chest feel hollow, except for a dull ache from time to time.

When Ally got up to go, Austin surprised her by pulling her into a tight hug.

"Austin? Is everything okay?" she gently asked him, pulling out of the hug. He just nodded, knowing that if he were to open his mouth he would tell her everything, and for some reason, he didn't want to let her know. A tiny part of him hoped that he wasn't really leaving, that this was only a dream, a bad one, but still a dream, and next Sunday he'd be here again.

"See you next week?" she asked him over her shoulder as she turned to leave.

He didn't answer, but she seemed to take his silence as a confirmation.

* * *

Ten years later, Austin stepped into the clearing once again. He tied his horse's reins to a branch and looked around. There were so many reasons as to why he shouldn't be here; there was no guarantee that Ally would be here herself. She had no reason to show up when he hadn't come in such a long time, and at twenty two, a pretty girl –no, pretty _woman_ , he corrected himself– was probably married. Maybe she even had kids. And even if Ally was here, she most likely wouldn't be happy to see him after he disappeared without explanation. There was also the pressing matter of his father being severely ill, the whole reason he had ridden back home as fast as he could, leaving Dez, his father and Miss Suzy to bring back his belongings when they returned at a much slower pace. But as he crossed the path leading to the pond on his way home, he couldn't resist and quickly directed his horse to make a one hundred and eighty degrees turn and take him there.

Walking towards the pond, he saw a dark head bobbing in the unclear water facing away from him. His heart, which was already beating fast from nerves nearly leaped out of his chest when he saw a neat pile of clothes lying near the edge of the water. Thank god the water was too dark to see anything, for if they were clear, he probably wouldn't have been able to concentrate.

"Hello?" he called out. "Ally?"

"Wh-who are you? How do you know my name?" Ally turned to face him, sinking until only her face was above water.

"Don't you remember me?" he asked her.

Eyes narrowed in suspicion, she shook her head.

Austin ignored the slight pang of hurt in his chest and sent her a smirk. "Well, I suppose that's to be expected, as the last time we met was a long while ago, when we were both young children, but still, I hoped you would. I remember you quite clearly. Then again, I did spend nearly every day thinking of you, my fairy princess."

Recognition flickered across Ally's face. "Austin?" she asked, her tone hushed.

He gave her a mock bow. "The one and only."

"Wha-how-when-what?" she sputtered, clearly at a loss for words.

"Perhaps we should continue this conversation when you're not… ah… when you have clothes on," Austin told her, trying with all his might not to think about the fact that she wasn't wearing anything. Of course, once the thought crossed his mind it was the only thing he could think about.

Ally blushed, eyes widening when she seemed to remember that the only thing shielding her body from his eyes was murky water. "Turn around then, so I can get dressed."

Austin did as she bid him, and just as he was going to ask her what was taking her so long, he felt something cold and slimy hit the back of his head. "Hey!" He whirled around to see Ally, fully dressed now, her clothes clinging to her wet skin, glaring at him, absolutely fuming, one of her hands muddied. At least he hoped it was mud and not some waste an animal left behind.

"You… you bastard!" she yelled at him, and he may have been mistaken, but he thought he saw tears in her eyes. "For weeks I waited for you to come, years even. I thought you'd forgotten about me, or… or that you were dead!" Yes, there were definitely unshed tears in her eyes, he guiltily noted.

"Well, at least I'm not dead," he offered weakly. The look on her face told him that unless he wanted to get assaulted by mud again, he had better start explaining. "My parents sent me away to my uncle's house to continue my studies. I haven't finished them, to be honest, but I received a letter from my mother, saying that my father is ill and that I must return home immediately, and so, here I am."

"Impossible, No one learns for that long except for people of… people of the court…" Austin saw Ally pale as the truth dawned on her. "You- you really are the Lord's son."

"You didn't believe me?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I didn't! What would a Lord's son be doing here, of all places? I thought you were telling tales, like some boys used to tell my friends that they were dragon hunters or lost kings when they were trying to impress them," she told him, red coloring her cheeks.

He took a moment to appreciate her like this. The pretty, slightly awkward girl she was when he left had turned into a beautiful woman.

His horse huffed, and he was jolted back to the present. "Ally, I'm sorry but I have to go."

Ally nodded, avoiding his gaze, but when he nearly reached his horse Austin heard her call his name and turned around just in time to catch for her to catch him in a tight hug. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist, marvelling at how small they were, even though she wasn't wearing a corset. "I'm glad you aren't dead," Ally whispered into his neck, and Austin had to suppress a shiver at the feel of her lips moving against his skin.

When they finally pulled away from the Ally blushed again and bid him a quick goodbye before walking away.

"Ally?" he called out to her. When she turned around he gave her a nearly bashful smile. "See you Sunday?"

Ally sent him a small smile of her own and nodded before disappearing between the trees.

* * *

The next week found Ally laughing as Austin finished the story of how he and Dez had seen a ship in the distance for the first time from a window at his uncle's house, which was on the shore. Unused to living near the ocean, they had thought it was a pirate ship and raised the alarm, driving the whole household into a panic before someone had actually thought to check and saw that it was only a cargo ship.

"I would love to see the ocean one day," Ally told him once she calmed down. "Such a large amount of water… I find it hard to imagine. It must be beautiful."

"It is," Austin agreed with her. "The ocean, it's almost… almost human, you could say, with ever-changing moods. Sometimes it's the most enchanting shade of blue, the waves pleasantly on the beach, and sometimes it's a steely gray, barely moving. The ocean can be quite dangerous, though. I remember once, when I was fourteen or so, I found the ruined remains of a boat that was wrecked by a storm. The sound the waves make is another amazing thing. When I first got to my uncle's house the noise kept awake for hours each night, but now, I find myself unable to sleep without it.

"I could take you some time," he offered, seeing Ally's slightly wistful smile.

"Really?" she brightened, and he nodded. "Oh, I would love to! But I can't leave the kids."

"You're married? You have children?" there was a sinking feeling I his chest. He knew that a few hours were not enough to fall in love with someone, not really, even if one had a crush on said someone as a child, but he couldn't help the disappointment that washed over him when he realized that she was unavailable for courting, that he would never bring her flowers, never kiss her, never ask for her hand in marri- "Oh, no. I teach at the school in the village. I was offered the job after the old teacher passed away a few years ago. A trip to the beach would probably take weeks, and I can't abandon the kids' education like that. What about you? Did you find some mermaid to marry while you were living next to the ocean?" she asked, and he knew she was teasing him for believing that she was a fairy all those years ago.

"No, I've never really liked seeing fish. Eating them? Yes. But looking at them?" he wrinkled his nose, "Not at all. Besides, I was always partial to fairies."

Ally blushed and cleared her throat. "Well, if I can't go to the ocean, you might as well tell me all about it. Did you ever sail?"

Austin nodded and launched into a story about the time one of his cousins nearly pushed him over the deck of a small boat.

* * *

A few months after he had come back they were lying side by side, watching the clouds and letting the afternoon sun warm them.

These hours with Ally felt like the only time he could calm down and breathe properly. His father's condition was getting worse with each passing day, and Austin found himself taking over more and more of his duties. The afternoons he spent with Ally felt like an escape to a simpler, happier life than his own.

Austin saw Ally's hand resting just inches from his own and made the impulsive, split second decision to grab it and intertwine their fingers. "Does this bother you?" he asked her when she turned her head to look at him in surprise. "No," she smiled at him, and he realized that he may never again get such a perfect chance. Keeping their hand together he flipped himself so that he was hovering above her, using his other arm for support, so as not to crush her. "What about this?"

Ally shook her head, so he leaned forward, ever so slowly, giving her a chance to push him away, and kissed her.

It was a short kiss, a few seconds at the most, but when he pulled away, his heart was beating as if he spent the last few hours running. "And that? Did that bother you?" he inquired, hating how vulnerable his voice sounded.

Ally's smile was shy as she brought the hand he wasn't holding to the nape of his neck, playing with the fine hairs there. "Not at all."

* * *

Austin took Ally to his house one day. She was nervous and fidgety, keeping her head down unless he pointed out a tapestry or painting he especially liked. Her uneasy attitude changed as soon as they reached the ballroom.

Ally stood in the middle of the giant room, gaping. "My god, I've never seen such a large room before! I bet you could fit the whole village in here."

Austin smiled at here amazement. He bowed before her, taking her hand and kissing it lightly. "May I have this dance?"

"I can't dance," Ally told him and pulled her hand away. Or tried to do so anyway, but Austin kept a firm hold of it. "I'll teach you." He put the other hand on the small of her back. "Here, put your hand on my shoulder." She did so, albeit with slight reluctance. "Now just... let me lead you."

At first Austin murmured instructions in her ear, and when she got the hang of it, he hummed a melody for them to dance to. At one point, though, they stopped dancing formally and just skipped and twirled about, him still holding her tightly, and their breathless laughter filled the room until- "Austin?"

They turned around to face his mother, who was standing at the doorway, perplexed. Ally blushingly got out of his hold and took a step away from him.

"Hello mother," he said.

"Hello Lady Moon," Ally curtsied. She wobbled slightly and Austin put a hand on her back to steady her. His mother didn't miss this. "Who's this?"

"This is Ally, she's…" what was he supposed to say? My friend? The love of my life? "Anyway, I was showing her around. Did you want something?"

"Yes. Sir Masen wrote to say that he's coming next month to see your father one… one last time," his mother faltered for a moment, "and his daughters are coming with him. He says that they are very eager to see you."

After an awkward pause his mother excused herself and Austin turned to Ally. "Would you like to see the gardens? They're beautiful in this time of the year."

Ally nodded, avoiding his gaze.

Hand on her waist, Austin led her outside. The sun was setting, painting the sky in pinks and oranges and purples.

They reached a small stone bench and he sat down, signalling for Ally to do the same. "Well?" he asked her. At her puzzled stare, he elaborated. "I believe we had a deal. I show you inside my house, and you show me your wings."

Ally snorted and shoved his shoulder with hers lightly. "Shut up."

"Since you can't fulfil your end of the bargain, I think you should make it up to me," he told her, sounding much calmer than he actually felt.

"Is that so?" Ally raised an eyebrow and he nodded. "And what exactly did you have in mind?"

Austin took a deep breath. "Marry me," he said simply.

"I-what?" Ally was clearly taken aback by his words.

"Marry me, Ally, Be my wife. Marry me, please," he urged her, desperation leaking into his tone.

"Austin… I-I'm not a lady, I can't run a household as large as this, I can't speak French, or embroider. I'm not like Sir Masen's daughter, or your mother. And what about the school? I don't want to stop teaching there. And our parents? We can't just elope. Oh, Austin, you would do so much better with someone else."

"I don't _want_ someone else, Ally. I wouldn't care if you were the queen or the lowliest chambermaid. A fairy, or a human, or even half a horse. None of that matters. As long as you're you, you're all I could ever want. You can ride a carriage every day to get to the school, and I don't think your parents would mind if you married me. As for my parents… I'm their only heir; they wouldn't be able to do anything to me if I married you." He could see the hesitance in Ally's eyes. "Please," he whispered, pleading.

Slowly, Ally nodded.

* * *

Austin paced restlessly outside the door. He just wanted the whole thing over with.

"Lord Moon!" Miss Suzy, who decided to keep on working for his family, despite the fact that he didn't need a nanny anymore, poked her head out the room. His father died a year prior, two weeks after his and Ally's wedding, leaving Austin with the title.

"Is it over? Is Ally okay? And the-" "Come, see for yourself," Miss Suzy smiled and ushered him inside.

Ally lay on the bed in the middle of her room, a weary smile on her face and a small, crying bundle in her arms. The doctor was in a corner, washing his hands.

"It's a girl," she told him as he reached her side, and sat down next to her, looking at the tiny thing she held. Seeing his daughter's face, which was in his opinion already lovely, despite being as red as a tomato and as wrinkled as a prune, made the tension from the past few hours disappear.

"What should we name her?" he asked.

"Your mother wanted her friend, Mabel, to be the godmother, didn't she? We can name her after her. It might make your mother like me a bit more." While Austin's mother held nothing against Ally personally, she was slightly miffed that Austin had chosen to marry a commoner rather than someone with noble blood.

"And Trish and Dez will be the other two godparents?" Austin asked and Ally nodded. She had wanted her closest friend, Trish, to be her child's godmother, and Austin agreed, despite his mother's protests. Since they had a girl, that problem was solved. "Mabel… yes, I like that name."

"Our little Mabel," Ally cooed softly, and leaned her head on Austin's shoulder, drifting off. She was probably exhausted from the long birth.

Austin got up and took Mabel from Ally's arm, handing her to Miss Suzy, who was hovering close to them. He nodded to the doctor, silently excusing him, and helped Ally lay down in the bed. He kissed her forehead softly. "Sleep now, my fairy princess," he whispered to his wife, and he saw her smile sleepily at his words.

As he left the room, he heard Ally call out to him. "Austin?" he turned around. "I love you."

He smiled. "I love you too."

* * *

 **This is horribly historically inaccurate, but I thought that in the real Elizabethan era, Ally probably wouldn't have been a teacher, since women, and especially the commoners didn't get a proper education then, and Austin probably wouldn't have looked twice at her, considering she was a peasant. And all of their teeth would have been brown and falling out by the time they were twenty. I also didn't want to write this in old English, considering it's much harder to understand.**

 **Fun facts about the story: *Ally's original name in this is Elizabeth, and Austin's is Richard.**

 ***This is six double sided handwritten pages, written mostly in chemistry and software programing classes.**

 ***The inspiration for this came when I was on vacation in Italy.**

 **As always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, and thank you all so much for reading!**

 **P.S. I know I said I'll have another story up soon, but I don't think I'll have much time to write it, so it might be slightly delayed.**


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